


The Ark's Hedgehog

by Runein



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dark, Drama, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24610189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runein/pseuds/Runein
Summary: Shadow receives a mysterious letter one night after coming back to his quarters on the Ark. The letter tells him to sneak into the cafeteria's closet. What could be there?A retelling of Shadow's story.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Dear Shadow,**

**At 11:35 tonight, your door will open.**

**If you make it to the janitor's closet in the cafeteria without being seen, you will be greatly rewarded.**

**Shall you accept this challenge?**

**:3**

The loopy, neat handwriting was unmistakably not Doctor Robotnik's, nor any of the other scientists' he had seen scribbling notes down during the research sessions. That left the question of just who was able to leave this note here on his bed while he was gone for small-arms training.

Maybe this was some sort of new test of Shadow's ability created by the research team?

He couldn't bring himself to accept that conclusion. Doctor Robotnik and the rest of the research team were always upfront with Shadow. If they wanted to test his stealth capabilities, then they would use the evade and resistance chamber. Why would they need to do this?

They wouldn't.

Who would?

Shadow turned on his heels to face the steely interior of his sparsely furnished room, which contained only a bed, a clock, and a night stand. It didn't make sense. How did someone get inside? The only way in was the large mechanical door that separated his room from the hallway outside, which was constantly patrolled. It required a high-level research keycard to open it, and it was resistant to great amounts of brute force to the point where Shadow doubted he had the strength to get out on his own.

Maybe more importantly, why did they want him to sneak to the janitor's closet in the cafeteria? He knew the location, and he was pretty sure of himself to be able to get there without alerting any of the security systems in place, but his greater concern was whether or not he should even do it at all. His instincts made him not want to, but if someone had enough control of the ship to open and close his high security door as they pleased, then essentially the entirety of the ship would be under their grasp. With that kind of power, if that someone were intending to do harm, they could kill everyone on board if they wanted to. If that was the case, Shadow had no choice but to do as they said, for now.

Forcing a deep breath, Shadow gave the letter another look.

**:3**

...Maybe it was a little too much to say that the perpetrator of this message wanted to do harm. But then, what did they want?

Shadow's thoughts went in circles. Eventually, the small hand of the clock reached eleven, and Shadow held his breath in anticipation. Would the door actually open? If it did, would he really try to make his way to the janitor's closet?

Sat down on his bed, his gaze flickered from the clock to the door. His ears were perked, ready to hear if anyone came down his hall. Every now and then the heavy boots of the guards would pass by, but nothing else.

Some part of him didn't expect the door to open at all, for it to be just some fluke of a prank; another part of him worried about the implied consequences if the door did open. Was it a test? A threat? An offer?

Shadow's ears perked as footsteps echoed from the hallway. Someone was running towards his room.

A moment later the door began the process of opening. The sound of it was so loud that it overpowered the footsteps from before. Shadow launched himself off the bed and stuck his head outside the crack the door had made.

Nothing. Empty hallways. There had surely been footsteps just a few seconds prior. How was the perpetrator already gone? Shadow's eyes narrowed into a glare.

_I might have underestimated him. Just who am I dealing with?_

Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the hallway to his right. These were a different kind than the one from before, and they were one he was familiar with - guards. They were coming into the hallway on their patrol.

If they saw him, they would lock him in his room and it would all be over.

...What would be over?

He grit his teeth. There was no time to think.

Slipping out into the hallway, he slammed a fist against the door's outer operating mechanism, crushing it into a short-circuiting pile of plastic and making the door automatically close shut. Shadow raced into the darkness, rounding a corner into a different hallway just before the guards marched into view.

It was a short distance from his room to the cafeteria, with only two cases of stairs and four hallways in the way. Avoiding the pairs of patrolling guards was easy since their footsteps made them easy to place, and the lack of light meant that whenever he was in danger of being spotted, all he had to do was dissolve into one of the ship's many shadows.

It was the first time he'd needed to sneak around outside the training environment. What was awaiting him in that closet? A cold sweat began to form on Shadow's brow.

The cafeteria seemed clear when he arrived, though the dark made it hard to see any awaiting ambush. Shadow pressed forward towards the closet, and after getting there he pressed his ear against the door. Silence.

He took a deep breath, grabbing the doorknob. There was no turning back.

He opened it quickly, hoping that it would surprise anyone inside but only being met with complete darkness and silence. He took a step inside, closing the door behind him.

"You made it."

The voice made Shadow flinch backwards, pressing against the door. He crouched into a fighting stance. A light from overhead flickered to life and the small closet was made alive - a mop, broom, shelves of cleaning supplies, and in front of Shadow, a young girl. Shadow, only standing up to about her knees, had to look up to see her - her blonde hair that came down to her neck, her green eyes, her bemused smile. As she moved closer towards him and more into the light, he took notice of how sickly her pale skin looked, how lean her face was.

"Congratulations!" She whispered in excitement, clasping her hands together. "You passed your first test!"

"W-Wait..." Shadow gaped at the girl. "You're… are you the one who left the note in my room?"

"Yup!" She flashed a toothy grin.

"...How? How did you get into my room, and open the door - and the guards -"

"Those guys? They're harmless. And as for your door…" The girl reached into her skirt pocket and presented a card from within. **Maria Robotnik** is what it said in bold letters. **Class 5 Security Clearance**.

"R-Robotnik? Maria Robotnik?" Shadow leaned in close to make sure he didn't misread it. "Are you a part of Doctor Gerald Robotnik's family?"

He looked back up to the girl when there was no response. She was pouting.

"Hey, did you forget about me?" She almost-growled.

"H-Huh?" Shadow faltered. "I don't know you -"

"You meanie!" Maria crossed her arms and spun on her heels, facing away from him. "How could you forget about me!?"

"Um, wait, I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - "

She glared at him from over her shoulder.

He hesitated for a moment, and then bowed his head. "Miss Robotnik, please forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you—"

She giggled and spun back around. "I'm kidding, silly. Don't get so worked up."

Shadow deflated. He had no idea how to deal with this girl.

"Aww," she cooed, and catching Shadow off guard, managed to put a hand on his head to ruffle his fur. "Did I make you mad? I'm sorry…"

Shivers went down his spine, and for a moment Shadow found himself paralyzed from whatever the girl was doing. "N-No, i-it's fine," he stammered, and then slid away from the girl's reach. "Please don't do that again…"

"Hmm?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't do what again?"

"Whatever - " He raised a hand over his head to emphasize his point, " - that was."

"That? Oh…" Humming, she started to rub her chin. "You loved it when you were a baby, though…"

"A… baby?"

"Or, I guess you were a baby. You were the same size, but you still acted like a baby. And you just came out of your tube, so…" She shrugged. "I'm just gonna' say you were a baby."

"Uh, okay…" Shadow sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So we met when I was first brought out of the biocontainer? I don't remember a lot from that time period, so - "

"It was really cute," she interjected. "I taught you how to play patty-cake, and whenever you cried I rubbed your head to calm you down."

"I - " Shadow froze. "C-Cried?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "Whenever the doctors would give you a shot or take blood you'd cry, so I'd always be there with you to calm you down."

Shadow's cheeks flushed with heat. "Oh."

"You were kind of a crybaby," she snickered.

"A-Anyways!" Shadow rapidly shook his head, trying to get rid of that mental image. "You said on the note that there was a reward for making it here, right?"

"Oh!" Maria playfully rapped on the side of her head. "Almost forgot. Silly me…" She turned around and raised onto her toes to reach for something on one of the shelves. "Where'd I put it… here!"

Grabbing a small napkin, she swirled around and planted a knee into the ground, abruptly kneeling and presenting the piece of linen as if it were a sacred offering. "Mister Shadow, hedgehog of the Ark," she addressed him in an accent that was now akin to some caricature of an old English Queen. "I offer this to you, on behalf of all that is good, and so that evil might one day be vanquished."

He studied her for a moment before taking the napkin. The handwriting was familiar.

**You have passed your initiation, and now you're a part of the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil!**

**Congratulations!**

**:3**

"Maria-Ninja... Dojo…" Squinting down at the napkin, he couldn't help but remember how he thought the person who wrote the note from before might've been some kind of terrorist. How wrong he was.

"Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil," she corrected. "It's important to say the full name, especially as a new recruit."

"New recruit?" Shadow repeated.

"Yeah, it says it right there on the scroll, see it?" She pressed a finger down on the napkin. "You're a part of the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil now."

Shadow gave Maria a blank stare.

"You must've heard the name before, right?" she asked, and when Shadow didn't budge her jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"The Doctor has assigned me a curriculum of history to study, and so far there's been no mention of the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil."

Maria threw her arms in the air. "Well, of course those old history books wouldn't say anything about us! We're too top secret for those! You have to be in the know to have heard about us!"

"In the know?" Shadow blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Ugh," she sighed and facepalmed. "You've been spending too much time with my grandpa. He's got you totally messed up."

"M-Messed up?"

"Yeah. It's a good thing I found you when I did; otherwise, who knows what could've happened to you. We'll have to start your detoxification right away." Saying this, she held out her hand to Shadow. "Come on, I'll show you the dojo."

Shadow looked at her hand without moving. She raised an eyebrow.

"Um, what are you waiting for?"

"Oh, well…" Shadow pointed at his own eyes. "I can see."

"What?"

"My vision was engineered to easily see through the dark, so you don't have to worry about physically leading me along."

"Oh my god," she exasperated. "It's worse than I thought. Come on." Reaching over and grabbing his hand, she started dragging him outside the closet. Shadow felt a little odd, but a tug made him relent and follow along.

The two were silent as they snuck around through the hallways of the Ark. The girl was excellent at stealth, and as she effortlessly dodged the patrolling guards as they moved further and further into the ship, Shadow had to wonder if she'd been through the same training he had been. She was the daughter of Doctor Robotnik, after all.

After some time, they came upon a door tucked away in the corner of one of the maintenance hallways. "We're here," she whispered and opened the door. "Hedgehogs first." She beckoned him inside.

Shadow didn't question it. Stepping inside, he was met with a room much larger than the cafeteria closet; the opposite end of the room was mostly glass, and outside that, Earth. The blue planet was on full display, and its brightness was enough to cover the entire room in its glow. On each side of the window there were bookshelves that housed a variety of brightly-colored comic books.

"Welcome to the dojo," Maria said and closed the door behind her. "This is where we plan our operations."

"Operations?" Shadow turned to look at Maria. Her blue eyes reflected the Earth's light.

"Of course," she said, crossing her arms and puffing her chest out. "How would any elite military organization work without operations?"

Shadow nodded. "I see. What does the Dojo Against Evil —"

" _Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil_ ," Maria emphasized.

"Sorry." Shadow bowed his head. "What is the primary mission of the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil? Why is there a forward operating base on the Ark?"

"This is a dojo, not a forward operating base. Very important distinction." She walked over to the window and crossed her arms behind her back. "You must realize that much of the information surrounding us is classified. Even though you're in the organization, you must be promoted in order to be privy to the more sensitive details." Looking over her shoulder, she squinted at him. "But know this, Shadow. Evil exists in grand amounts across the universe, and wherever it exists, we're there to fight it. We are the first ones in and the last ones out. We represent no organization, country, state, or creed — only what is good."

The frail girl suddenly seemed to have a much larger presence than before. Shadow couldn't believe that such a highly selective group had existed without him knowing it. He'd learned about some of them — Navy Seals, Special Air Service, Combat Applications Group — but never the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil.

"Do you understand?" The weight in her voice made Shadow pause.

"...Yes." Shadow scratched his chin. Much of this group was still a mystery, though he figured he'd learn more eventually. For now, he had one last question. "Why have I been chosen?"

Maria raised her eyebrows. After a moment of silence, she grinned. "That's classified information."

Shadow sighed; though, that kind of secrecy must've been normal for top-secret groups. "When's my first mission?"

Maria turned on her heels so that her whole body faced Shadow. "Your first mission begins now."


	2. Chapter 2

"K-Kaguya…" the spiky-haired boy wavered as he called the name of the girl sitting opposite to him.

"Yes?" The girl smiled at the boy. Whatever gravity had overcome him hadn't yet reached the girl; it didn't reach anywhere else in the quiet corner of the small cafe they occupied, either.

It had taken all his nerve just to ask her here in the first place. Did he have it in him to confess?

"I —" his breath hitched. "T-Thank you for coming here with me. You're a great friend."

Damnit.

"You're a great friend, too." Kaguya flipped her long, black hair back behind her ear. "I'm grateful for having you by my side."

When Shadow flipped the page, he found the end of the comic. He scratched his head and set it down on his bed, next to Maria's security pass, which she lent him the night before so he could enter back into his room. Maria had called it a 'manga,' a term he was unfamiliar with. For his first mission, he was told to read this and then report back to the dojo the following night. It wasn't too long. Shadow was able to finish it in the hour he had between waking up and his training session. It was weird; in Shadow's training, mission planning had never involved reading stories, especially romance ones where the main character seemed adamant about not revealing his romantic intentions — for some reason.

The Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil must've been ahead of the curve in terms of strategy, or maybe the information presented by the 'manga' was important for some kind of psychological operation. It wouldn't be too far-fetched for a secretive group like that.

Shadow's ears perked as footsteps echoed down the hall. He grabbed the manga and the security pass and slid them under his pillow just before the Doctor came in.

"Good morning, Shadow." He peered at something outside before the door shut behind him.

"Good morning, Doctor." Shadow leaped off the bed and stood at attention.

"Remind me to replace your door's outer security system, will you? It seems yours has gone through the ringer; I had to use the backup today." As the Doctor looked down at him, all Shadow saw was his own reflection in the Doctor's glasses.

"Yes, sir." He strained to make the response sound natural.

"Great." The Doctor circled around further into the room and clapped his hands together. "I have some exciting news, Shadow! The military has decided to pay us a surprise visit today, so rather than go along with the training we had planned, we'll be putting on a little show for them."

"Yes, sir."

"That's the spirit." The Doctor clasped Shadow's shoulder. "You've been making tremendous progress, faster than anyone on the team expected. Keep it up."

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent." The Doctor released Shadow and began for the door, motioning for Shadow to follow. "Come along, they're waiting for us."

* * *

Shadow aimed and then fired his assault rifle into three human-shaped targets consecutively, sprung to the side to avoid one of the fly-bots' training laser, and proceeded to shoot said fly-bot until it exploded into metal bits. He could hear the echo of a cacophony from the observation chamber.

This was nothing. They should've seen what he normally did for training.

"That will be enough, Shadow." Various other voices poured in through the speakers, making it hard to hear the Doctor. "You can come out now."

As Shadow entered the hallway adjoined to the observation chamber, he heard a soft thud coming from his right. He jerked his head in that direction to find a wall with an air vent at the bottom.

Nothing was there.

 _Air Conditioning turned on_ , he figured and walked inside the observation chamber.

There were several men surrounding the Doctor, all in slick uniforms with several ribbons and medals adorning their chest. He heard one of them speak.

"— Almost guaranteed as far as it concerns your contract being extended. Your work here has caught the attention of a lot of the upper brass, Doctor. I was wondering —" he paused when he saw Shadow. "Ah, here it is!"

Shadow came to a halt in front of the men. The one speaking, the youngest of the bunch, screwed up his face a little.

"You know, I didn't realize it was this short."

"Not too short for a Mobian," another officer commented. "Those things are usually that tall, I think."

"Shadow was made to be strong, but also agile and quick." The Doctor gestured to the large window, where a cleanup crew had begun the process of clearing the remains of Shadow's presentation in the combat chamber. "His smaller size allows him to travel much more quickly than otherwise would be possible, meaning that he's able to maneuver around any battlefield very quickly, as you all saw."

The room hummed in agreement. "Very good, Doctor," the youngest officer added. "Very good. I was wondering if I could speak with you privately..."

Shadow's ears twinged as one of the other older officers began to whisper to another. "There he goes again. He's lucky the Corps got shafted this year, else I'd —"

"Privately?" The Doctor's voice came after a pause, overpowering whatever else the older officer said. "I suppose. Shadow?"

"Yes?" Shadow found it harder than usual to look the Doctor in the eye. Whatever reaction he had to the door's security system being smashed, he had hidden within himself. There wasn't a word spoken about it after they left his quarters for the combat chamber. He made a mental note to ask Maria to close the door with her security card whenever she opened it next time so he wouldn't have to physically override it again.

"I'll have you escorted back." The Doctor looked at the younger officer. "Shall we?"

"You lead the way, Doctor."

The Doctor patted Shadow on the shoulder as he passed by. As the pair made their way out, another pair came in. Guards.

"You know the drill, Shadow."

Shadow nodded. After settling in between the two men, they were off.

It didn't take long to reach Shadow's quarters. The guards opened the door and Shadow slipped inside; shortly after, the door came to a close. The echo of boots faded into the distance.

"You really impressed those army guys."

Shadow spun around to find Maria poking out from underneath his bed.

"M-Miss Robotnik?"

Maria beamed and gave a little wave. "Hello!"

Shadow exhaled, hard. It felt like his heart tried to jump out of his throat.

"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" Maria teased, and Shadow's face went red.

"N-No, just surprised, that's all," he mumbled.

Maria giggled and started pulling herself out from under the bed.

"You knew about the presentation today for the military?" Shadow grabbed Maria's hand and helped her to her feet.

Her grin slanted into a smirk. "Knew about it? I was there."

"You were…?" Shadow's eyes grew wide. "The vent!?"

"Darn. I guess you did spot me, sort of." She began dusting off her dress, oblivious to Shadow's astonishment. "Looks like I was slacking."

 _I truly underestimated this girl._ _She's able to sneak around the entirety of the Ark without alerting anyone. If not for my enhanced hearing capabilities, I doubt I would've even noticed anything in the vent. She's really amazing._

"Those guys are really something, aren't they?" Maria's voice snapped Shadow out of his brief reverie. Her eyes seemed to narrow at nothing in particular. "They're really…" she trailed into a murmur, and then a stiff frown.

Was it anger that flashed across her face? Shadow couldn't tell.

"Who?" When Maria's eyes met Shadow's, they softened.

"Er," she groaned softly, and for once it was her face that became red. "So — I noticed that the key-card-reader-thing for your door was a bit... beat up. What happened?"

Her sudden change in demeanor was somewhat jarring, but Shadow decided to keep that to himself. "Last night, I had to destroy the door's main security system so that it would close. There was no other way of closing it, and I didn't want the guards to notice anything."

Maria facepalmed. "You're right. Jeez, I can't believe I forgot about that. Was my grandpa suspicious?"

Shadow frowned. "I don't know. He definitely noticed it, and said he needed it replaced, but he hid his reaction beyond that."

Maria crossed her arms behind her back. "This could be a problem." She paced to the opposite end of the room, looking out into the window. "I didn't think I'd have to use my ultimate weapon so soon, but… no… I can't…"

Shadow's heart jumped. "Ultimate weapon?"

"I'm sorry, Shadow." Maria kept her focus fixed somewhere beyond the window. "I'm afraid I might've put us into a dire situation. The ultimate weapon might be the only thing that can save us."

ICBM. Nuclear warhead. Rail gun. These words passed through Shadow's train of thought as he thought about what an 'ultimate weapon' could be. Had they truly entered such a dire state? Shadow swallowed his nervousness. "What is this — ultimate weapon?"

Maria didn't budge. "It's better off you didn't know."

Shadow's pupils shrank. Was it even worse than what he was thinking? _What could be worse than an ICBM or a warhead?_

"Anyway!" Maria twirled away from the window, her arms fluttering in the air with her momentum. The smile on her face betrayed the fact that just a moment ago she was talking about unleashing her ultimate weapon. "Have you finished the first edition of _Love at First Sight_ ? I know this is a bit early, but I just _have_ to know what you thought about it."

Shadow couldn't have become more still if he'd been encased in a block of ice. "What?"

" _Love at First Sight_. The manga?" Her cheeks blew up with air. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"N-No, I didn't forget, I…" Shadow took a moment to regain his bearing. How was Maria so unfazed after mentioning her ultimate weapon? "...Yes, I finished it."

"Oh!" She clasped her hands together. "Did you like it?"

"Did I like it?" Shadow furrowed his eyebrows.

After a few seconds passed, Maria slumped over like a puppet without strings. "Aww, you didn't like it?" It sounded like she was on the verge of crying.

"Well…" Shadow closed his eyes.

_Did I like it?_

When he opened his eyes, he saw Maria studying him. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Maria leaned forward, closer to Shadow. "Do you think it was the pacing, or…"

Shadow shook his head. "No, it's more… no one's ever asked me anything like that before."

Maria tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"No one's ever asked me if I liked anything before."

Maria drew back. "Really?"

Shadow nodded. "So… I'm not sure."

Maria's eyes became downcast. "Hm," she sighed and sat down on the edge of Shadow's bed. "How do I explain something like this?"

Shadow stared at her blankly. When she patted the spot next to her on the bed, that didn't change.

"Come sit next to me, silly." She smiled at Shadow.

 _Silly?_ Embarrassment threatened him again. Not only was this girl highly trained in stealth, but it seemed she also mastered the art of psychological operations. Shadow hoped she hadn't noticed his reaction as he slid on the bed beside her. Thankfully, it seemed she was deep in thought.

"Okay." She propped her head with her hands. "Is there anything that makes you feel bad?"

Shadow tapped a finger on his chin and mulled the question over. "Whenever I fail one of the training goals that the Doctor sets for me, I feel very… tired."

"Tired?"

"Very tired," he repeated. "Like…" Shadow's mind raced for the proper words. "Like I haven't done what I was supposed to. I've noticed I perform much worse when I'm in that state, so whenever it happens I try to get over it as soon as possible."

Maria hummed. "That sounds like what 'feeling bad' feels like."

Shadow stared down at his gloves. _I felt bad._ His internal voice seemed foreign, saying that.

"What about when you meet all your training goals?"

Shadow shifted on the bed. "I feel very energetic."

"Energetic!" She declared. "Tell me more about that feeling."

Shadow thought back to when he'd last out-performed a training exercise; it was some days before, in the maneuvering center. "One of my training goals was to scale at least twenty feet of a vertical surface while dodging training-laser fire. I was able to hit thirty-five feet my first try. The research team was so happy, and I…" The gears in Shadow's head churned.

_What did I feel?_

"Yes…?" Maria prodded.

"I felt like I could do anything." A statement and a realization. "Some of the training exercises seem so hard, but suddenly I feel like I could take them all on — not just to pass them, but to excel at them."

"That's it." Maria nodded. "That's what it feels like to feel happy, Shadow!"

"I see." Shadow let that word — happy — bounce around in his head. He imprinted it to memory.

"Things that make us happy, we like. Things that make us feel bad, we don't like." She stuck a finger in the air to underscore her point. "Does that make sense?"

Shadow bobbed his head up and down, following along.

"So!" Maria spread her arms out wide, like a bird about to take flight. "Now that you understand, you must've definitely liked _Love at First Sight,_ right? I mean, it is _only_ the best romantic-drama-comedy manga ever created!"

Shadow thought back to the story. "It was confusing. Why didn't the main character tell Kaguya his feelings, if they were so strong? It doesn't make logistical sense to keep it to himself."

Maria gave an apprehensive giggle. "That's a little harder to explain."

She didn't offer any explanation beyond that, so Shadow grunted. That information must've been privy to only the higher-rankings of the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil.

She bent over to reach under the bed. "I actually brought the other volumes, if you wanted to read them…"

Shadow looked down and saw her sliding whole stacks of manga out from under his bed. There were too many to count; it was hard to imagine how she was able to sneak all of them to his room.

"So my next mission is to read all these? When should I have it done?"

Maria glanced up from the manga pile to Shadow. "Don't think of it as a mission, per say."

"Not a mission?" Shadow questioned. Maria shyly tapped the ends of her index fingers together.

"Only read it if you want to." She looked down at the manga. "I know you said it was confusing, but… do you think like it?"

"...Yes." Even though it was a little confusing, Shadow had to admit that there was something in him that wanted to see what happened next; in that feeling, there was some happiness.

"Aw, yeah!" Maria sprang up. "You can have these, then. What did you think about Kaguya? She's so cute, isn't she? That scene during gym class gets me every time I read it. And Hazuki-sensei — oh my god, don't even get me started on her. She's great, right? Especially — ..." Maria began describing one of the scenes.

The corners of Shadow's mouth rose into a grin. He was happy.

The two of them discussed _Love at First Sight_ for a while, devolving into whispers whenever guards marched by. It was Maria who did the bulk of the actual talking — Shadow mostly nodded along and tried to keep up with her gushing. He found her broad knowledge of the series admirable. She knew the artist and how his style evolved throughout the series; she knew the different writers and how they managed to tell a cohesive story; she knew how each translation of the manga brought slight changes to the story. It was fascinating to Shadow, who just the previous night discovered what a manga even was.

Eventually, Maria noticed the clock. " — Seven thirty?!" she suddenly blurted in the middle of a lecture about how the main character's blue hair represented his inner purity. Her face blanched. "Uh oh."

"Miss Robotnik?" Shadow looked up at her. _Did something happen?_

She shot up from the bed. "Sorry! I'm a little late for something!" Leaping over the piles of manga, she flashed her security card against the security mechanism and slipped outside before the door had even finished opening. Her hand came through the open door and waved. "Bye bye, Shadow!"

"Miss Robotnik!" Shadow reached under his pillow for her security pass. "You forgot your — !"

"Keep it! I have like a hundred of those!"

The door closed, and then immediately opened again. Maria slipped in.

"You don't have to call me 'Miss Robotnik.'" She sulked. "We're friends, so just call me Maria."

 _Friends._ Shadow grinned. "Goodbye, Maria."

"Goodbye, Shadow!" She waved again and then sprinted outside, leaving Shadow's room for the final time that day.

The room became quiet. It was strange, a room being so noisy one moment and then so silent the next. To Shadow, the quiet was uncomfortable, and he needed something to take his mind off it.

The second volume of _Love at First Sight_ was close by.

* * *

A day later, and Shadow had made it to volume six. Maria burst into the room.

He looked up from the manga to find a distraught-looking Maria coming right at him. "Miss — Maria?"

When she reached the side of his bed, she threw herself on it face-first. A muffled groan was all she responded with.

"W-What's wrong?" Shadow sat the manga down and scooted closer to Maria.

Her body heaved, and then she lifted her head so that her face wasn't mashed into the bed. "Something terrible has happened."

That made Shadow shoot upright. "What is it?" He glanced nervously to his door. Was someone after Maria? Did it have something to do with the ultimate weapon she mentioned the day before?

She exhaled, and slid off the bed onto the floor, her arms and legs splayed eagle. "Social interaction…" She lifted the back of her hand to her forehead and gasped. "...With other people!"

"...Huh?" Shadow grew a blank expression.

She huffed and curled herself up so that she was sitting on the floor. "My grandpa said he was organizing a party for me with other teenagers, kids of some of the researchers." One of her eyelids twitched. "He said to _mingle_ , Shadow. Mingle. Me. _Mingle_. Ugh." She fell back down on the ground. "I did everything I could! But it was no match against him! Nothing worked!" She shook a fist at the sky. "Whyyyyyyyyyyy…"

Shadow scratched his cheek. "What's wrong with social interaction?"

Maria sat up. "What — " She slowly craned her head to look at Shadow. "— did you just say?"

A shiver ran down Shadow's spine. "Er…" Words couldn't seem to make it beyond his throat.

"What's wrong with social interaction?" Shadow could see fire in her eyes. " _What's wrong with social interaction_!?" Her hands pulled at her hair. "Everything! It's so awkward and weird and uncomfortable! Just being around people I don't know makes my skin crawl!"

 _Awkward and weird and uncomfortable?_ Shadow had been in plenty of instances where he was around people he didn't know, but he couldn't say any of them were unpleasant.

"It's no use." She sighed and hunched over. "I even used my ultimate weapon. It didn't work."

"T-The ultimate weapon? You used it?" Shadow gulped.

"Yeah, I had no choice. Not like it did any good. He was so adamant about it."

Shadow's mouth pressed into a thin line. Maria's burden must've been heavy — if even the ultimate weapon couldn't solve her problem, could anything?

Something clicked. Shadow jumped off the bed.

"We can't give up."

She peeked up at him.

"In any operation, there's always the possibility of entering the worst case scenario. In the combat procedure guide I read, it said that when one enters these scenarios, it's important not to resign yourself to your fate — one must still try to gain control of the situation and come out of it alive. Just as there's always a possibility of finding yourself in these kinds of situations, there's always a possibility of coming out of it unscathed."

Maria rested her head in her palms. "So we have to take control, huh?"

"We have to do our best."

"Hmm." She closed her eyes. "How should we do that…?" Her mumble was barely audible.

Seeing Maria thinking so hard made Shadow try as well, though he hit a wall rather quickly. If this were an ambush or a sniper, he'd have a much easier time figuring out some sort of plan. This situation was out of his realm.

The room fell into silence. Maria sat there with her eyes closed, and Shadow stared at the wall. It was Maria who ultimately broke the silence.

"I got it!" She sprang to her feet. "I know exactly what to do! Shadow!"

Shadow straightened to attention. "Yes?"

"I need some of the manga I lent you!"

"Yes ma'am!" Shadow rushed over to the bed and reached under it, pulling out a whole pile of _Love at First Sight_ volumes and sliding them to Maria.

"Here's what we're gonna' do." She started organizing different volumes on the floor, in the shape of a rectangle. "That's almost big enough… perfect!"

Shadow stared at the volumes on the floor. "Are we giving them manga?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "We're gonna make a poster!"

"A poster?"

"A poster!" She repeated. "I'm going to teach everyone about _Love at First Sight,_ the best work of fiction ever created! And since I know practically everything about the series…"

"...You'll be in control!" Shadow finished.

"Exactly!" Her pupils grew wider. "I can see it now… I'll be the most popular girl on the Ark! This is exactly like _Shojo Wa Funinki_! This party is going to be great, Shadow! It will be great!"

Shadow grinned. She'd proven herself once again; truly, if anyone deserved to lead the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil, it was her.

"We'll need to get some cardboard, and some paper. And I'll need to find a printer somewhere…" She paced around the room. "We only have two days before the party, so we'll need to be quick."

"I understand." Shadow straightened up again. "I'll do whatever I can to make this mission a success."

She grew a sly smirk. "Keep talking like that and you'll be promoted to general in no time."

"G-General!?" Shadow's eyes tripled in size.

Maria giggled. "Don't let it get to your head, recruit! We have a lot of work to do."

He took a deep breath. "Of course. What should we do first?"

She crossed her arms behind her back. "We need to get some supplies."

The second mission had begun.

* * *

That night, Shadow found himself in the dojo. Scissors in hand, he carefully cut along the lines of the pictures Maria had printed out earlier. Maria was carefully arranging and gluing the cut pictures to the large piece of cardboard they had on the floor.

"We're making some really good progress." Maria leaned over the poster and inspected it. "If you want, we can call it there for today. It's getting pretty late, and I know you usually have some kind of early morning training, don't you?"

Shadow snipped the last piece of paper he needed to extract one of the pictures; it was a character's head. "I was engineered to need much less sleep than average while still functioning optimally." Slowly rotating the now cut picture in his hands, he eyed it carefully before putting it down. "I understand if you need to go to bed now; I can stay here and keep working."

Maria wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them close to her chest. "You're not tired?"

Shadow picked up another one of the papers that had a picture on it. "No, I don't exhibit normal symptoms of being tired. I'm able to work at maximum efficiency until I sleep."

Maria puffed out her lower lip. "If you're staying, I'll stay." She grabbed the head Shadow cut out and reached for the glue again.

Peering over at her, Shadow found bags under eyes that had to squint at the poster. It wasn't hard to tell that she was sleepy.

"Trying to work while experiencing the effects of sleep deprivation isn't very efficient — "

"I'm fine." Maria's attempt at a smile became a yawn halfway through.

Shadow watched as Maria began to glue the picture down onto one of the corners. This leader of his was a hard worker, for certain. He'd read that some special operations groups had to make it long stretches with little sleep for training, so this must've been nothing new to her.

The two returned to their pattern of Shadow cutting and Maria glueing. As the minutes went by, the speed at which Maria glued began to slow down considerably. Her movements became more and more sluggish until they eventually ceased altogether. When Shadow glanced at her, he found her still — not sleeping, like he expected, but staring out the window, at Earth.

"Maria?" Her body jerked at his voice. "Do you see something?"

"Um," she rubbed at her eyes. "Sorry, no, I… I got a little distracted." She started to glue again.

Shadow returned to cutting, and the room fell into silence again, saving the sounds of scissors and glue. After some more time passed, it was Maria's turn to cut the quiet.

"Shadow." Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. When he looked up, he found her staring out the window again. "Have you ever wondered what it's like? On Earth?"

Shadow followed her gaze to the planet in question. " _Love at First Sight_ takes place on Earth, right? Maybe something like that."

"Maybe." She scooted closer to the window, close enough that it looked like her nose was touching the glass.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "You've never been?"

"No." Her lips turned upward slightly into something that looked almost like a smile, but had the weight of a frown.

"Why?"

She tittered. "I… can't."

"You can't?" Shadow placed his scissors on the ground. "Why not?"

Maria didn't budge. He stood and started to make his way over to her but stopped when he noticed something in the reflection of the window. The tears rolling down her cheeks were just distinct enough to see in the glass.

"I, uh…" Her voice wavered. "I'm sorry, I think I'm a little tired…"

"I-I understand." Shadow's stomach felt like it had been filled to the brim with lead. He looked away from Maria and started collecting all the loose paper from his cutting. "I'll clean up. You can go to bed."

"Thank you."

He kept his stare down on the ground as her footsteps trailed to the door. There was something in him that didn't want to see her crying again.

The door opened and closed. Shadow didn't see Maria for the rest of the night.

* * *

After completing his training for the day, Shadow returned to his room.

Three turned to four, and four turned to six. Every time Shadow glanced up at the clock, it got later and later.

The manga in his hands started to warp as his grip tightened. His eyes moved across the page, across the words, but he'd been stuck on the same page for about five minutes; nothing processed. He sighed and set it down.

The clock said seven now.

Did he expect something?

Did he expect Maria to come?

The innards of his chest churned. It was like there was thousands of pounds pressing on him; this wasn't feeling 'bad,' it was something worse.

The party was the next day. Didn't they need to work on the poster?

Sliding out of the bed, he walked to the window, then back to his bed, and then back to the window.

_Could it be… last night?_

In her exhaustion, she started crying. It started after she said she couldn't visit Earth. Was that why? Did he offend her?

Shadow took a deep breath.

The clock said eight now. Who knows how many times Shadow made the nervous trip between the window and his bed.

He decided to try reading the manga again. It would be his third attempt.

He was just overreacting. That's what he said to himself.

At around nine, the door opened.

"Helloooo!" Maria strode in.

Shadow dropped the manga in his hands. Relief washed over him, and at once his jumbled, erratic thoughts settled. "Maria!"

She threw her arms in the air. "Shadow!"

Shadow hopped off the bed. "Are you alright?"

Her arms fell to her side. "Alright? I guess so."

"Well, I know you were crying last night — "

"O-Oh, that?" Her cheeks flushed. "Ahh, I was just a little tired…"

The pressure that had been building throughout the day suddenly released. "That's good." A new vigor shot through his veins, and immediately he felt weightless. He felt good. _Happy_.

"Sorry." She leaned side to side, throwing her weight from one foot to another. "I don't usually — get like that, whenever I talk about _it_." Her head craned towards the ceiling. "I mean, you know, about my — my N.I.D.S."

"N.I.D.S.?" Shadow echoed, slowly. "N-I-D-S?" Spelling it out made his mouth dry.

Maria nodded.

Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Shadow had encountered it in the books the Doctor assigned him to read. The condition involved a virus that primarily focused on one's immune and central nervous system, attacking and weakening both to an extreme level.

Very few who had it survived.

The blood drained from Shadow's head.

"That's why I can't go to Earth." Her soft smile was the opposite of Shadow's stiff frown. "My immune system wouldn't be able to handle it."

"I —" It was hard to talk. His vocal cords were knotted around his heart. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She poked Shadow in the forehead. "Because you're gonna' save the day."

"W-What?" Shadow shivered.

"Your immune system was built to be super strong, right?" She flexed her arms as she said this. "Since mine's taking a nap, I'm gonna' borrow yours and use it to fight off all the nasty stuff."

Shadow blinked. Maria deadpanned.

"My grandpa really hasn't told you anything, has he?" Shaking her head, she tsk tsk'd. "He's too secretive."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow tried to imagine what borrowing someone else's immune system would entail, but came up blank.

"Soo…" Her jaw jutted out as she hummed. "I don't know all the science behind it, but basically your immune system was built to be full-proof, better than ever seen before. My grandpa is trying to take some of it and put it into my body so that it can fight the virus. You get a lot of blood samples taken, don't you?"

He did. In fact, he had to get blood taken every second or third day. Shadow always thought the samples were for more in depth analysis of his own biological systems, he never thought it was being used to find a cure for N.I.D.S.

Maria must've detected the shock on his face. "I can't believe grandpa never told you about any of this. I'll have to scold him later."

"Is he making progress?" Shadow sat back down on his bed. His emotions had shifted drastically in different directions in such a little time, and the beginning of a headache threatened the back of his skull.

Maria beamed. "Yes. In fact, he said they're almost at a breakthrough."

Shadow exhaled. For the second time in this conversation, a weight lifted from his chest. "That's great."

"It is, but…" Scrunching up her nose, she tapered her eyelids down into a hard glare. "He's working himself to the ground. He barely sleeps, and spends all his time working, and _those_ guys keep pushing him for more and more results."

 _Those guys_. It was that term again — she mentioned 'them' in one of their previous meetings. "Who?" He tried asking about it for a second time.

"Those army guys." Her tone emitted frustration.

"The army?"

"They think that just because they provided the funding for his research, they can push my grandpa beyond his limits." She leaned against the wall. "They bully him for constant results; what my grandpa predicted would take twenty-five years has taken seven-teen. That's not a good thing — it just means he's been overworking himself all this time."

"That's…" Shadow ran a hand through his quills. The military often did appear for presentations of his combat abilities, but he never knew that they pushed the Doctor so hard. The interactions he'd seen between the Doctor and various officers always seemed so cordial…

"I'm sorry." Maria waved her hand in the air. "I'm just venting now. But, really, don't worry about last night. I was just a little… tired, that's all."

"...Okay." He decided to hold his questions back. Admittedly, he was still curious about some of the finer details of the relationship between the Doctor and the military, but he didn't want to push Maria. "I was also wondering why you came here so late. Wouldn't it have been better to finish the poster earlier in the day?"

Maria responded with an anxious laugh. "Uh, so, I needed to go through a full check-up today. I meant to tell you yesterday we wouldn't be able to start until later, but…"

An image of Maria crying shot to the forefront of his consciousness. "Oh."

"A-Anyway." She shook her head. "Enough about all that. Like you said, we have a poster to work on, and there's no time to waste! The party is tomorrow!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Shadow slid off the bed, standing at attention. It was hard to shove the still-fresh emotions down his throat, but he did it nonetheless — there was a mission to accomplish, and he couldn't let his feelings get in the way.

* * *

"Finished!" Maria threw her arms up and let herself fall onto the ground. Shadow sat cross legged beside her, inspecting the poster.

 _Why You Should Definitely Read Love at First Sight, The Best Manga Series Ever Created! — Presented By Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil!_ Was scrawled in large letters across the top of the poster. Under that, various pictures with descriptions detailing different portions of the series. "It looks fantastic," he added.

"It does, doesn't it?" Maria turned her head to look at Shadow. "The best poster of all time made to describe the best manga series of all time. It's poetic."

Shadow chuckled at that; as the endorphins made his brain tingle, he realized that it was the first time he'd ever laughed.

Maria sat up and clapped her hands together. "Now all we have to do is present it!"

"Right." Shadow crossed his arms, and a moment later his eyes widened. "Wait — _we_?"

"Of course!" She pointed at Shadow. "You helped make the poster, so it'd be a travesty if you weren't there for the main event!"

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. "What about the Doctor?"

"Won't be there." Her lips stretched into a smug grin. "He said he wanted to give me room to ' _mingle,'_ so we won't have to worry about him barging in."

"I see." Shadow played the scene in his head — him and Maria describing _Love at First Sight_ to other people her age; nothing immediately jumped out at him in terms of compromising the mission "It won't be until after my training?"

"Mhm. It's at five o'clock." Grabbing the poster on each side, she stood up and leaned it against the nearest wall. The dojo was much messier than usual today. Tiny bits of cut paper littered the floor, and joining them was the occasional volume of _Love at First Sight_.

"I suppose I _will_ be there, then." Shadow started picking up the pieces of leftover paper. "Is there anything specific I should do?"

"Hmm." Maria cupped her chin with her hand. "Have fun?"

 _Have fun?_ That was a mission Shadow never expected to encounter, though it was a mission nevertheless. "Understood."

A tired quiet settled over them as they began to clean up. Shadow checked the clock — he had made a point of making sure they didn't stay up as long as they did last time. It was only twelve, so they still had at least an hour before calling it a night.

"Hey, Shadow."

When Shadow looked up, he saw Maria looking out the window. Nostalgic dread crept up his spine. At least she didn't look to be crying this time.

"Yes?" he said after a pause.

She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, rotating her neck some. "Do you think I should wear makeup?"

"...Makeup?" Shadow briefly glanced around the room as if the definition were written on the walls. "What's that?"

She snickered. "I don't know why I asked that." Pulling strands of her hair outwards, she inspected it in the reflection. "It's like… things you put on your face to make it…" she trailed off, twirling her finger so that her hair began to knot. "Prettier?" It sounded like more of a question than the end of a statement. Her eyes moved rapidly across her own image in the window.

"If you think it will improve the chance of mission success, I don't think there's any reason not to."

A playful frown came across her face. "You know, whenever a girl asks you something like that, you're supposed to say, 'Oh no, you're already pretty enough! You don't need any kind of makeup!'"

Shadow's brows drew together. "What? Why?"

She huffed. "You just _do_ , Shadow. It's a requirement!"

His head tilted forward. "I see." There was a lot to learn from the leader of the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil.

Maria glanced over her shoulder at Shadow. "You know, it's a good thing you have me. Grandpa would've left you totally clueless."

* * *

The day of the party had arrived.

Immediately after training, Shadow waited inside his room until the footsteps of his guard-escort faded into an echo; after that, he started his trek to the room Maria had instructed him to meet her in. Sneaking around the Ark during the day was much more risky and complicated than it was during the night; not only did he have to worry about the guards, but also the occasional researcher who just happened to be walking down the same hallway. There was also the fact that Shadow stood out much more with the fluorescent lights on. Still, even though it took him some minutes longer than what would've been most advantageous, he did eventually find himself in one of the higher levels of the Ark, standing in front of a door with a **Maria Robotnik** nameplate. He knocked four times, exactly.

There was some rustling on the other side of a door, and then a voice. "What's the best fruit?" It asked.

"Not pears," he said the code-phrase exactly as Maria had told him the night before. The door opened, and Shadow stalled. Maria stood in front of him in a black silk dress and a pair of open-toed shoes that had the heel raised a few inches. It was a bit different from the assorted shades of blue garb that he was used to.

"Quickly." Maria waved him in. "We don't have much time."

Shadow stepped inside. It was a room that was much smaller in size compared to the dojo, about as big as his own, with fuzzy animal-dolls and volumes of manga all over the place.

Maria shut the door and went over to her desk. "Are you ready, Shadow?"

"Yes." Shadow carefully followed her, making sure not to accidentally step on any of the manga on the floor.

"Good." Sitting down in her chair, she grabbed a small wooden box from the desk and then turned around so that she faced Shadow. "You remember the procedure, right?"

Shadow gulped. "Yes."

"Good." Her fingers nervously drummed the box before holding it out for Shadow.

Shadow took the box in his hands. He went over the steps from the website Maria showed to him the night before.

_Moisturizer._

_Primer._

_Liquid Foundation._

_Concealer._

_Foundation Powder._

_Bronzer._

_Blush._

_Highlighter._

_Eyeshadow._

_Eyeliner._

_Mascara._

_Lip Gloss._

_Setting Powder._

He opened the box, finding all sorts of different bottles and powders and creams. It was almost overwhelming.

 _Just follow the procedure_ . He started digging through the cornucopia of materials. _I can't afford to compromise the mission, not now._

"If you need it, I can pull up the tutorial on my laptop again…" Maria's voice rose and lowered in odd intonations, and her forehead glistened with nervous sweat.

Shadow shook his head, grabbing the moisturizer. "No, I remember."

They didn't have much time. If he was going to do it, he needed to do it now.

A tense silence followed as Shadow began to apply the various products. The tutorial showed not only which products to use first, but how to use them — what tools you needed, how you used them, how you needed to stroke across the skin in specific patterns. It was a lot to remember, but thankfully Shadow had enough time the night prior to drill it in his head before going to bed.

Makeup was really complicated.

"I think I'm a little nervous." Only Maria's pupils moved to peek at Shadow; she couldn't move her head much, else makeup accidentally be smeared or streaked.

Shadow kept his focus on the powder brush. "Don't worry. I remember everything from the tutorial."

"Not about the makeup." She looked at the poster sitting on the bed. "I mean about the party — I'm nervous about the party."

"Why's that?" Shadow traded his large brush for a smaller one.

"...I don't think I'll be good at it."

His face contorted. "Why not?"

"I've never really been in this kind of situation before." Her feet fidgeted. "I have a hard enough time talking to the older researchers, but those people my age? I — I haven't even seen them before. Ever. Grandpa always encouraged me to talk to them, but this is the first time he's insisting. And it's a party. The only parties I've been to are my own birthday parties, and it's always just me and grandpa. I don't think you can count those."

"You did fine when you recruited me for the Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil."

"You're different. I've known you since you were a baby."

"Ah…" He tried not to let those mental images invade his mind. "It'll be fine. We have a plan. As long as we follow it, everything will be okay."

"What if something happens?" Her hand gripped the hem of her dress.

"We'll adapt and overcome the situation." Shadow took a moment to inspect his work, and then reached for another bottle. "Don't worry. I'll be there too, so I'll do whatever I can to ensure the operation is a success."

Shadow stilled when Maria's hand wrapped around his wrist. "Thank you." Her blue eyes bore into his own.

"There's no need to thank me." Shadow smiled. "I'm just ensuring the success of a mission, as any operative would."

Shadow went back to applying Maria's makeup. She still fidgeted around, but at least she didn't seem to be as nervous as before.

The clock showed four-forty five when Shadow finished. It was fifteen minutes before the party. "Everything's set," he said and started putting the materials back into the wooden box. "What do you think?"

Maria reviewed herself in the mirror hanging above her desk. "It's — " She stopped, and leaned closer to the mirror. "It's amazing. It's perfect."

Shadow's chest puffed with satisfaction. "Now all there is to do is to go to the party and present the poster, right?"

"Right." Her eyes flashed with determination. "We're right on schedule, aren't we?"

"Fifteen minutes left." Shadow shut the box. "We have some breathing room —"

A loud knock made both of them flinch. The second one came with a voice.

"Maria?" It was Doctor Robotnik. "You in there?"

The aura of confidence surrounding Maria instantly broke, replaced with one of abject panic. She waved her arms towards the bed, and Shadow instantly understood. He dived under it just before the door slid open.

"G-Grandpa?" Maria stepped towards the Doctor. From under the bed, all Shadow could see were two pairs of shoes.

"I just came by to —" The Doctor stopped in his tracks. "Oh… is that makeup?"

"Mhm. I decided to dig some of this old stuff out…" Her voice faded into a mumble.

"You look beautiful, darling." He sighed. "Seeing you wear that brings back memories. Your mother wore that dress to prom."

"I guess we have similar tastes."

The Doctor chuckled. "Yes, certainly. Are you ready for your party? I know… you weren't too thrilled about it when I first mentioned it to you."

"I'm feeling better about it." Maria turned to face the bed, and Shadow heard something above him shift. "I made a poster for the other people, see? It's about _Love at First Sight_!"

"Very nice. _Love at First Sight_ is your favorite comic, right?"

"It's a _manga_."

"Yes — a manga. I keep forgetting. It's… from Japan?"

"Mhm!"

"I'm glad you've decided to show your creativity," the Doctor remarked. "I came by so I could walk you there. Is that alright?"

"Y-Yes, of course." Maria's voice hitched. Shadow held his breath.

That could be a problem; however, as long as the Doctor didn't accompany her inside, Shadow had confidence he could join Maria for the party. He just needed to find his way inside eventually.

He silently cursed at himself at the realization he should've asked Maria which room it was being held in; that meant he needed to tail them.

"Come on, then." The door opened, and Shadow heard two footsteps exit the room. Giving the two about ten seconds to travel, he slipped outside and followed behind.

"Are you excited — ?"

"I wonder if — "

Shadow could make out pieces of a conversation as he tracked them two stories down and to the right. The two stopped in front of a double door, which meant that the room on the other side would be bigger than a typical room.

Shadow exhaled in relief. The trip wasn't too long; the Doctor deciding to walk her could've been much worse.

"Here we are." Placing a hand against the door, the Doctor faced Maria. "You'll have fun."

"Yeah. I will." Maria hugged the poster so close to her that it looked like she wanted to hide behind it.

"If something happens, I'll be in my office." The Doctor removed his hand from the door and used it to clasp Maria's shoulder instead. "I'll see you at six."

"Yeah."

The two shared a hug, and then the Doctor opened the door. Maria slipped inside; Doctor Robotnik stayed to watch the door close, and then began down the hallway. As soon as his form disappeared around the opposite corner, Shadow sprinted for the door. It slid open as he pressed the key on the operating mechanism.

To say the least, it wasn't what he had pictured in his head when he heard 'party'.

He estimated the room to be about sixty square feet, with rows of tables stretching from one end to another. There were six people in total sitting at the tables, all of which Shadow didn't recognize; they sat together in the back corner of the room, some of them looking at him and some looking at the girl standing a little to his left.

Maria. She looked as if she were frozen in time, hugging the poster and simply gazing in the direction of the other kids. Shadow side-stepped closer to her.

" _Maria, is this the place_?" Even though he whispered, it felt like his voice had the potential to go miles in the absolute silence.

She nodded.

" _Remember the plan_."

She bit her lower lip, and briefly peered down at him. He nodded, and after a deep breath, she started walking towards the small group in the corner, her heels clacking against the metallic ground. Shadow was right behind her.

They were halfway there when a murmur of laughter rose from the group. As Shadow got closer, he realized that most of them wore much more casual clothing than what Maria chose; t-shirts, jeans, sneakers, and hoodies seemed to be standard issue. As he got even closer, he noticed that the expressions they wore on their faces were… odd. Some had uneasy smiles, some had scrunched up their face, and one girl looked at Shadow and Maria with her chin raised.

They stopped when they were within inches of the inhabited table. Every person was mute. Everyone's attention snapped to Maria as she started to unfold the poster — Shadow could almost hear every fiber of the cardboard as it moved. It made a soft thud as she set it at the head of the table, and then moved around to its side.

Maria intertwined her fingers, her eyes flicking between the poster and the ground. "Um." Her voice trembled, and scarlet seeped into her cheeks. "W-Well, uh, this is really good." She pointed a shaking finger at _Why You Should Definitely Read Love at First Sight, The Best Manga Series Ever Created! — Presented By Maria-Ninja Dojo of Good Against Evil!_

The group stiffened.

"T-The first volume came out two years ago —"

"— Is this a joke?"

The source of the voice belonged to the girl with the raised chin. Her glare could barely be seen through the strands of dark hair covering her face.

"Ah…" Maria's pupils could only stand to meet the other girl's for a split second, and then they danced somewhere to the side. "W-What?"

The guy sitting beside the dark haired girl snorted, and then burst into full-blown laughter. The girl's frown deepened.

"I asked if this was a joke." She motioned towards Maria. "What the hell is this? Did that disease of yours make you retarded?"

The others at the table smirked. Maria's face turned the shade of bleach.

"W-What?" It appeared that was all Maria was able to say. Her whole body was frozen stiff.

"Christ." The dark haired girl muttered under her breath, shifting her focus to Shadow. "And you brought a mobian friend. When did they start letting those on the ship?"

Shadow didn't budge.

"Hmph." Her nose scrunched up in absolute disgust. "I can't believe my parents forced me into this bullshit. Whatever. I don't know what this is all about, but do you mind if you just sit — " She pointed to the far corner of the room. " — somewhere over there until this is over?"

When Maria didn't move, the girl sneered.

"Uh, hello?" She snapped her fingers. "Get lost."

" — _Why_?" Maria placed her hands on the table.

The other girl raised her eyebrows. Maria upturned her head to reveal the beginning of tears.

"W-Why are you being so mean?" Her voice swelled with emotion.

"Hah!" the other girl guffawed. "Why the hell do you think?"

Maria's lips quivered, and the other girl leaned forward in her chair.

"Aww, you're crying?" She smirked. "The piece of shit is the one crying — _We_ should be crying."

"W-What are you talking about?" Maria's frown split to show her teeth.

"Oh, I don't know…" The girl tapped a finger to her chin, exaggerating each movement. "Maybe fucking up my life? All of our lives?"

Maria went wide-eyed.

"You're the reason we're all up here, you know?" She narrowed her eyes. "Our parents work day and night to find a cure to a rare, one-in-one-billion disease, and for what? So that _you_ can live? We've all spent our lives on this ship — for what? So that _you_ can live?" The girl's fist clenched. "We've never seen Earth before. Not once. Why? _For what_?"

"I-It's n-not my fault." Maria closed her eyes, but the tears increased.

"Of course it's not," the other girl spat. "You're so selfish. Don't you realize that if you went ahead and died, it would be better for everyone?"

That got a chuckle from the group. Shadow studied each person.

"I don't want anything to do with this pity party." The girl leaned back into her chair. "So please, just get away from us. I can't stand looking at you." She waved a hand at the poster. "And bring that shit with you. It's pathetic."

Maria's fingers pressed hard into the table to the point where they whitened. "Y-You..."

"Me?" The girl pointed incredulously at herself.

Maria opened her eyes, staring daggers at the girl.

"What? You mad?" She stood up out of her chair so that she could lean within a foot of Maria. "Did I make you angry?"

Maria's arms shook.

"Wanna' hit me?" The girl turned her head a little to the left, enough to show the entirety of her cheek. "Huh?"

Maria didn't move.

"Okay." The girl's eyes narrowed into slits. "Allow me."

She twisted her torso around and swung her arm back. That's as close as she got to slapping Maria.

Shadow jumped in front of Maria and jabbed at the girl's face with as much power he could muster. A loud **crack** echoed across the room, and the girl flew backwards right into the wall. Her body landed on the floor with a loud smack. Blood seeped from her head.

That's when the screaming started.


End file.
